A Romantic Guide to Cape Cod

A Romantic Guide to Cape Cod

Cynthia Mascott

Illustrations by Donna M Blackburn

Looking for an antidote for the doldrums? Take a romantic vacation on Cape Cod or the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Sailboats bob quietly in the harbor or race across the bay under full sail, Victorian houses line the immaculately kept streets, and colorful gardens brighten every corner. Say the names like a mantra: Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Cape Cod. Already you are there.

Just a one-hour drive from Boston, Cape Cod and its offshore islands offer the perfect chance to get away from it all. Imagine walking along windswept beaches, taking a ferry ride across clear-blue water with the wind in your hair, enjoying a champagne brunch on a deck overlooking the harbor, or cuddling up for a horse-drawn carriage ride under the stars.

This book shows you the most romantic inns and hotels to suit all budgets, as well as restaurants where ambiance is just as important as the food. It gives plenty of suggestions for ways to spend your days, whether you choose to go shopping in some of the best art colonies on the East Coast or want to explore the nearby beaches and forests. A full chapter is dedicated to Boston, the gateway to this region, with details on theater, nightlife, harbor excursions and more.

Introduction

A Brief History

The Land & Sea

Climate

Government & Economy

People & Culture

Price Chart

The Upper Cape

Woods Hole

Romantic Hotels & Inns

Restaurants

Touring Woods Hole

Falmouth

Romantic Hotels & Inns

Restaurants

Touring Falmouth

Mashpee

Romantic Inns & Hotels

Restaurants

Touring Mashpee

Sandwich

Romantic Hotels & Inns

Restaurants

Touring Sandwich

The Cape Cod Canal Region

A Romantic Inn - Sagamore

Annual Events

Outdoor Fun

Beaches

Forests, Preserves & Parks

In Woods Hole

In Falmouth

Between Sagamore & Sandwich

Recreation

Golf

Tennis

Bicycling

Cruises/Ferries/Sailing

Marine Facilities/Public Landings

Entertainment

Movies

Theater

Tours

Reaching The Upper Cape

By Car

By Air

By Bus

For More Information

The Mid-Cape

Barnstable/Hyannis

Romantic Hotels & Inns

Restaurants

Touring Barnstable/Hyannis

Yarmouth & Yarmouth Port

Romantic Inns & Hotels

Restaurants

Touring Yarmouth Port

Dennis

Romantic Inns

Restaurants

Touring Dennis

Annual Events

Outdoor Fun

Beaches

Forests, Preserves & Parks

Barnstable

Yarmouth

Dennis

Bicycling

Recreation

Tennis

Golf

Boating

Entertainment

Music

Theater

Movies

Nightlife

Hyannis

Barnstable Village

Cummaquid

Yarmouth

West Dennis

Dennisport

Reaching TheMid-Cape

By Car

By Air

By Bus

By Ferry

For More Information

The Outer Cape

Harwich

Romantic Hotels & Inns

Restaurants

Touring Harwich

Brewster

Romantic Hotels & Inns

Restaurants

Touring Brewster

Chatham

Romantic Hotels & Inns

Restaurants

Touring Chatham

Orleans

Romantic Hotels & Inns

Restaurants

Eastham

Romantic Hotels & Inns

Touring Eastham

Wellfleet

Romantic Hotels & Inns

Restaurants

Touring Wellfleet

Truro

Romantic Hotels & Inns

Restaurants

Touring Truro

Provincetown

Romantic Hotels & Inns

Restaurants

Touring Provincetown

Float Your House

Annual Events

Outdoor Fun

Forests, Parks & Preserves

Bicylcing

Beaches

Recreation

Tennis

Golf

Boating

Entertainment

Movie Theaters

Performing Arts

Provincetown

Wellfleet

Brewster

Chatham

Orleans

Nightlife

Chatham

Brewster

Harwich

Orleans

Eastham

Wellfleet

Provincetown

Reaching The Outer Cape

By Car

By Air

By Bus

By Ferry

For More Information

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted

in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without

the written permission of the publisher.

This guide focuses on recreational activities. As all such activities contain elements of risk, the publisher, author, affiliated individuals and companies disclaim any responsibility for any injury, harm, or illness that may occur to anyone through, or by use of, the information in this book. Every effort was made to insure the accuracy of information in this book, but the publisher and author do not assume, and hereby disclaim, any liability for any loss or damage caused by errors, omissions, misleading information or potential travel problems caused by this guide, even if such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause.

About the Author

Cynthia Mascott was born and raised in Los Angeles. Her ties to Martha's Vineyard Island date back 20 years to when her sister was married there. In 1994, Cynthia moved to the Island and fell in love with its distinct beauty and charm.

For many years, Cynthia has worked as an Assistant Producer for an independent film company based in Hollywood. In the early 1980s she wrote feature articles and music critiques for Rock magazine. While living on the Vineyard, she was a freelance writer for The Martha's Vineyard Times. She co-authored an Oral History Project and wrote a monthly health column for the paper. Her love for Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod inspired her to write this book.

Cape Cod from space

Introduction

The breakers looked like droves of a thousand

wild horses of Neptune, rushing to the shore,

with their white manes streaming far behind;

and when, at length the sun shone for a moment,

their manes were rainbow tinted.

~ Henry David Thoreau, Cape Cod, 1817-1862

Looking for an antidote for the doldrums? Take a romantic summer vacation on Cape Cod or the Islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Imagine windswept beaches, sailboats and ferries, Victorian houses, and colorful gardens.

Say the names like a mantra: Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Cape Cod. Already you are there.

Just a one-hour drive from Boston, Cape Cod offers the sojourner the vacation of a lifetime. The remote beauty of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Islands can be reached by plane or ferry.

For the romantic, this book will give you all the requisite information for planning a perfect vacation. Learn more about the hotels, bed and breakfasts and restaurants in the area. We'll give you plenty of suggestions for spending your days, whether you choose to go shopping or want to explore the nearby beaches and forests. And there's nightlife too. You'll have a choice of concerts, plays and nighttime sailing excursions.

So, take a minute and dream.

A Brief History

It was the Wampanoag Indians who first called Cape Cod and the Islands home. They fished the sea, farmed the land, and hunted the forests. The Wampanoags were a peaceful people, living harmoniously among one another. The arrival of European explorers occurred in the 1600s. There are several reports of earlier sojourners, but Bartholomew Gosnold is credited for being the first European to lay claim to Cape Cod. Arriving in 1602, Gosnold named the area after the plentiful cod he and his ship crew found in the waters.

Eighteen years later, passengers aboard the Mayflower spent a month on the Cape, near Provincetown, before resettling in nearby Plymouth. Once the Pilgrims became adjusted to their life in Plymouth, they began to spread out southward, with several different groups moving to the Cape. The towns of Sandwich, Barnstable, Yarmouth and Eastham were the first areas to be settled. The Indian and white settlers lived side by side, in peaceful co-existence during those early years.

The Cape and Islands were horribly exposed to English attack during the Revolutionary War. There was little that the Cape Codders and Islanders could do to keep away the British forces. Yet each town has recorded separate acts of heroism, from the three Vineyard girls who blew up a flagpole rather than allow the British to beat them to the task, to the Cape Cod and Island men who lost their lives while fighting for freedom in America.

They called it the Golden Age of Whaling, and it ran from thelate 1700s to the mid-1900s. While the Cape and Island ports offered little protection during a war, the same ports offered wonderful access to the sea. Throughout the 1800s, sea captains traveled the oceans in search of the almighty whale.

The whalers called the Cape and Island their home, but for the most part they lived upon the great ships, often for years at a time. Their wives and children waited for them at home, never knowing when or if they would see their loved ones again. But there were riches to find out at sea, and the captains would arrive home with pockets full of money. They built lavish homes with money they made from whaling, each home grander than its neighbor.

The Golden Age of Whaling came to its eventual conclusion when other sources of fuel became more readily accessible. The Cape and Islands did not see another Golden era until the area was discovered by vacationers, seeking solace from their city lives.

Tourism continues to be a primary business in the area. With it have come some of the negative side-effects found along much of America's popular East Coast. Fortunately, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket recognized early on the need for restrictive building codes and laws in order to protect the area from overdevelopment. The Cape followed suit, and in 1961 the Cape Cod National Seashore was established to protect the eastern shore line. In 1990, the Cape Commission was organized to overlook further development of the area.

But parts of the